


Girl made of starlight

by mesiveloni



Series: Sleepless nights [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Feelings, Friendship, Moogle Chocobo Carnival, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:04:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 7,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9778220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mesiveloni/pseuds/mesiveloni
Summary: Noctis slips secretly to meet his Luna during Moogle Chocobo Carnival. This is what Once upon the time at the carnival didn't tell; Noct's side of story.





	1. The call

Noct was about to fall asleep when he heard a scratching sound and a quiet whine outside the tent. Beasts hated fire, and daemons in turn hated the holy runes of havens. He yawned and got up to see what was it. Confident, he thought it was probably nothing life-threatening. Besides, one yelp and his guardians would rouse. 

Noct crawled out of tent and saw Umbra sitting by the fire, enjoying its warmth. It had clearly known he would still get up, coming to offer the decorated notebook. Waiting patiently, it sat down in front of him, looking very carefully of all Noct's actions.

"I'm not going to write her straight back, I'm tired," Noct whispered aloud. Umbra's expression changed slightly, as if it had been disapproving. It laid down, clearly waiting for notebook back, as long as it took. He was still keeping an eye on Noctis. That dog was way too clever, Noct had thought already as a kid. There was however no way to know what it really was, and he had accepted the dog as it was already long ago.

Noctis crawled back to the tent, shutting his eyes again, but he just couldn't relax. The notebook was on his mind, and there no way to fall asleep without knowing what Luna had written. So he opened it, glancing at Tenebrean blue flower pressed between. The book felt so familiar, though it had been a while since he had touched it last time.

He found soon the last written page. It still smelled faintly like Luna and fresh ink, and he took a long sniff. Her message wasn't long, and Noct felt a little disappointed. He missed her, although he wouldn't admit it to guys. They were already teasing him enough of their arranged marriage. 

"I hope you are well. Please come visit me at Altissia. I have things I'd like to speak in person. Come day after tomorrow, at dusk and prepare for two evenings."

She wanted to meet him! And it sounded pretty important. He read the message few more times, considering what to do. This was so unexpected. He really wanted to see her too. And there was this Moogle Chocobo Carnival going on in Altissia. 

There was nothing really going on that couldn't wait for few days. Kingsguard could probably use free time to unwind and do stuff they wanted to do. He sort of wanted some own time too. It was great to be on road with guys and the mage chick, but he sometimes secretly yearned for soft beds and worry-free marathons with movies, junk food and videogames.

This would be really a favour for everybody, he pondered. Scribbling a short reply into the book, he got up once more to take it back to Umbra. Noct stayed up long enough to see the gleam in Umbra's eyes, as it got up, jumped nimbly off the haven and loped into darkness.


	2. Through the wring

Noct thought that he had gotten up fairly early, but Ignis was already up, and well on his way to prepare breakfast for everybody. Seeing Noct approach, he silently poured coffee into a cup and passed it to Noct, calmly continuing to chop the vegetables. 

Noct took a sip from his cup. Tasted strong and fresh. "I got a message from Umbra late last night," he said quietly. Ignis raised his eyes from chopping board but didn't ask the question aloud. He didn't have to, they knew each other better than that. "Something came up, and I will go visit Altissia for three days. I'll leave tomorrow morning. Take me to the ship, and then you can do whatever you like for three days. Have a little holiday. I can take care of myself," Noct added when he saw the worried look in Ignis's eyes.

Only sign that showed Ignis was distraught, was that he put the knife down very carefully. He was now giving Noct his full attention. "But we always go with you. We are the Kingsguard. It is our duty, and not only that," he said, upset. "I know," Noct replied, maybe even too lightly. "As my business may not be fully official, but it is truly important. I don't know yet, but..." It has to serious, if Luna is asking me to come out of blue, he finished in his mind.

"Are you trying to say this matter has to do with Lady Lunafreya? If it was Umbra carrying the message?" Ignis didn't cease to put him through the wring. "Yes, it has. The message implied urgency," Noct grumbled. "Then why don't you take us along, I hear there's a carnival going on too," Ignis still insisted. "Because I can perfectly well handle this by myself. I am not going weaponless and unprepared. And you all can truly have some vacation," Noct argued back, a little annoyed.

"Maybe you should bond better with our newest member. Get to know her, spend some time together outside fighting," Noct kept up before Ignis could come up with a new argument. This was almost hitting under the belt now, he thought. Ignis was turning back to his chopping board and pretending to be very interested in it, but Noct saw his cheeks slightly blushing.

He had seen the way they all were stealing glances at her. None of them seemed ready to show any feelings openly, but there was definitely some interest in the air on at least guys part. How the girl felt and about whom was all mystery. He had known her for a while, she was most skillful at raining down doom on his enemies and developing the spells of elemancy with him. And she was a nice, kind person to her friends. He could surely trust that the guys would be gentlemen during his absence. Perhaps things would clear up a bit between them without his presence. 

"Right, well it's all decided then," he grinned smugly and left stunned Ignis to his vegetables.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters are sort of short now, but... I kinda liked this one. Need to really think about working tags too...


	3. All done in a day's work

Noct was glancing back at the marketplace. They were at Lestallum, reporting their last hunt to the small, wiry man keeping the street restaurant. So the story was out, he thought as he secretly examined Gladiolus leaning over the girl and almost whispering in her ear. His posture was interesting, first a little unsure but then returning to his usual one, very self-assured and flirty. Noct turned his attention back to the dry geezer, who was still talking and very pleased with their work.

Everyone were sitting down in the table as Gladio and the mage slipped back to them. Their poker faces were good, but he guessed Gladio had told her now about his trip. Gladiolus had been rather disappointed and upset, when he had talked with him earlier in the morning, repeating the conversation almost to the letter as he had gone it through with Ignis. 

He had just told them to tell Prompto and the mage, he wouldn't bother to do it for the third time and argue about it. He was set to leave tomorrow morning, no matter what. Although he reminded himself to be proud, happy and lucky that he had such caring friends. Even if they were being pains in the ass sometimes. 

Even in his earlier years in the palace he had yearned sometimes for time in pure loneliness, to get to do things he wanted to do without someone always watching over his shoulder. He did enjoy company, especially relaxed as his guardians were, but this trip would be his and his alone.

Noct was still quietly planning, taking a sip of his soda as others were talking. Rest of the day they would be running small errands at Lestallum. There was this woman called Holly, who needed some help at the powerplant. She had a gig or two for them, involving some work with pipes or something like that. After that they could check their need for shopping and amounts of all necessary supplies. And in the evening he could fill a few more magic flasks with some usual assistance, just to be prepared for anything.

As he was telling others about his plans for today, he realized he was expecting tomorrow like kids about christmas. He was just distracting himself with work and passing time, until he could take his leave. But he'd finally get to see Luna. Wonder if she was still as pretty as she already had been as a little girl? Giving himself a mental slap to concentrate, he collected himself. If he started to daydream, this day would never pass. It was time to set to the work with others.

Later in the evening they were comfortably set on the camp fire again. Ignis was cooking the evening meal, Gladio and Prompto were working out, and he was concentrating and mixing the magic drawn from elemental deposits into the magic flasks with the mage girl. 

He stopped to take her features in, and pondered what made her so irresistible to others in his party. Or at least he thought so. All he really had was this feeling in his gut, since none of the guys had actually talked about it. To him it was sort of hard to think about her as anything else than a friend, although he sort of understood the appeal. Sure she was pretty, funny and had way more of character than probably was decent but... she just wasn't Luna. 

No other woman in his life so far had been truly comparable to his soon-to-be significant other, Noct realized. As they finished with every possible flask, he left her half of them. Some were less potent and some real killermaterial. "I hope you don't run into trouble, but in case trouble runs to you anyway..." he shrugged as she laughed and moved the flasks to safety.

Now he'd finally get to pack, then eat and quite soon to sleep. All done in a day's work.


	4. White and blue

For once Noct got up in the morning with mentality of rise and shine. The kingsguard sort of wondered about it, making a few expected sarcastic remarks, but he so didn't care. He had told Ignis that he wanted to catch the first ship to Altissia and he did. As he left to board the ship, he turned once more to wave and tell them to have a good time and enjoy their mini-holiday. 

Meeting with Luna would be at dusk, so he'd have plenty of time to get acquantained with the town and carnival attractions. Noct took a deep breath at the docks, stretching after the trip. He was really surprised as he suddenly saw Carbuncle at his feet, and his phone beeping. Apparently he wouldn't get to be totally guardianless, after all.

The air was filled with flying confetti. All around were people wearing funny hats, costumes, waving around plush toys or balloons. Everything had been festively decorated according to the spirit and he had to admit, this was bound to be fun for a change. He started towards the prize counter to see how expensive the prizes were, and if they were worth the trouble for collecting the carnival medallions.

He decided to start the walk around the city and then return for most interesting attractions. At least he would want to get a suite from some hotel, if not from Leville. Who knew if he'd have time for the fireworks show tonight if he had a date. He hoped it really would be a date.

They had so much everything around here. Photographs to be taken, chocobo races, cafés and... Ahhh. Fishing competition. Noct just couldn't pass it. With some work he could surely get the grand prize! After reading the poster he walked to pier, studying the water and casually flinging his hand for a fishing rod.

He checked conditions of the reel, and the bait. His rod was already pretty good, it shouldn't be any trouble. Now he just needed some luck to start landing the best tags. This could take a while, but he had still hours of daylight before he'd have to go to the hotel to clean up before his date.

After several hours by the pier, Noct had gone to the hotel, showered and was changing into clean clothes. He wondered where he actually should meet Luna. He suspected she might be somewhere in the palace. As he was covering his lean upper body with a clean black t-shirt, his phone beeped. "I'll take you to her," the text said and Carbuncle whined, sitting on his bed.

"Of course, I should have known..." Noct smiled to the small silvery creature. He was feeling quite nervous. It had been such a long time since they had met last time. He had thought for a long while just what to wear. He ended up going with his usual style, as his visit was unofficial and Luna had never been the one to complain about his casual clothes anyway.

Maybe he would buy her a bucket of flowers on the way. There was certainly plenty of booths selling them all around the city. What would she like? Gerberas, carnations, tulips? He'd probably know when he'd see something that reminded him about her.

As he was walking with Carbuncle on his side, he saw them. A small bunch of white roses, slightly tinting to green and dark blue lilies. They weren't the same ones as in Tenebrae but the hue was just right. She'd love them, he thought happily after buying them, continuing the walk in twilight.

Carbuncle led him to a huge stone manor at the far end of town. It was heavily guarded, but the men in watch just observed his face, bowed to him and let him pass. Stepping in at the front door, a very formally dressed servant was immediately waiting for him. "Follow me, please," he said, turning to guide him to the second floor and opening the double doors to a huge livingroom. "Prince Noctis, my lady. Call us should you require anything," he announced, retreating and shutting the decorated doors behind him.

As Noct entered, he saw Luna slowly getting up from a sofa. She looked disheveled and pale, wearing a simple long sleeveless cotton dress, blond hair in a ponytail. They were dark half-moons under her eyes and she looked dead-tired. Noct barely had presence of mind to put the flowers on the table instead of just dropping them, as he was already rushing to her side.


	5. The nightmare

"What's wrong, Luna?" Noct gasped, not quite sure whether to embrace her or not, now that he was just a step away. She was so beautiful, and suddenly he felt shy near her.

She closed the distance between them, briefly closing in and hugging him. "This is why I sent for you," she said, smiling weakly for him. "Sit down with me, please," she asked, as she was sitting to the sofa. Noct followed, still searching answers from her face.

"For the last five days, I've been sleeping very badly. First I fall asleep, but eventually my dream changes into a certain nightmare. It is always a same one. Last days it has been coming every time sooner and I wake up scared," Luna explained, looking down to her hands. "Last two days I've tried to sleep in the daytime, but it helped only so far. It began to come even then, every time I fall asleep. I didn't know what to do."

"What's happening in that dream," Noct inquired. She made his heart pound, sitting so close to him. She turned her blue eyes to his. "I stand in a balcony, under the night sky, looking at the view. The stars begin to fall, only a few of them at first. Then all of them, dimming down fast, until there is not a light left, not even the moon. I can feel the change in the air, everything turning cold, all life slowly withering, turning first sickly and then dying. I hear a voice whispering in the wind with strange language. It sounds evil, filled with menace, and I feel like I should know it," she sighed. 

"And yesterday the dream continued. I saw a tall shape next to me, as if condensed from even deeper shadows. It looked like a man, but it was so twisted I couldn't tell who it looked like even if I knew it. It knew I was watching it, and it slowly turned to look at me. It's eyes were gleaming yellow, bleeding black ooze. 

I felt like running, but it was as if I was paralyzed. It said, 'I will enjoy seeing you bleed when I rip your throat. You will witness the darkness falling, as you draw your last breaths helpless and see your prince dying, suffocating in his own blood. Your cold corpses will be ripped. And then I will make sure your beloved Astrals will burn too.' 

That thing stepped closer, reaching for me, and I screamed out of fear, so hard, and I woke up, still screaming aloud. Noct, I'm so scared to fall asleep now. I'm so tired! I don't want to relive this over and over again, but it just keeps coming back!" She was crying, burying her face on his chest.

"Shhh now. I'm here. We will figure out something together. We just need to think this through," Noct tried to soothe her, saying the first things he could think of while he was stroking her hair, holding her. She had always been the strong one, who always knew what to do. Now she was putting her faith in him. 

He wasn't really sure if he could solve this, but he'd die trying.


	6. Ahem.

Luna was beginning to calm down. "Thank you," she whispered, sitting up and looking at him. "I feel so much better now that you're here."

He had loved to have her close, holding her against his heart. He could probably drown to her blue eyes, framed by long eyelashes. Just thinking about possibility of making love to her sometime in the future might give him a heart attack. He would be lucky to marry her.

He was reminded of reality again, as Luna saw the flowers on the table, rising up and moving to them. "You brought me flowers? I'm sorry I didn't notice before. I love them," she sounded delighted, picking up the bucket and sniffing their scent. "You're welcome," he said. He was actually very happy she really liked them, even if he didn't say it out loud. She was already searching for a vase. Finding one, she filled it halfway with water and began to arrange the flowers in it.

Still fiddling with the flowers, she was keeping her eyes in them. "How do you really feel about having to marry me?" Her nervous question surprised him completely. "I... uh..." he didn't seem to get reasonable reply out of his mouth. She understood his reaction terribly wrong. "I mean... it's hard that it was arranged. I hope we will still be able to be at least friends," Luna babbled, tensed up.

Noct got up. She seemed suddenly so frail and insecure again, standing by the table, apparently afraid he would keep rejecting her. He didn't really know what to say again, but he walked to confront her. Gently lifting her chin up, he made her look at him.

"Arranged marriage or not, I am the luckiest guy ever to get to be with you. I'd never want anyone else," he confessed, closing in to kiss her before she got to say anything. Her sadness melted away, and she returned the kiss. "Really?" She whispered, pulling away. "Really. You've always been the one," he promised, smiling.

She was leaning to kiss him again, as Noct's phone vibrated. He wasn't going to check it, rather choosing to enjoy their moment, but Luna was disturbed by it. "What is it," she inquired. Reluctantly, he checked his phone.

"Ahem. We still have a bigger problem to solve," the message said. Noct turned, and saw Carbuncle sitting majestically on the sofa. He was both astonished and irritated, as the small creature had seemed to appear out of thin air to distract them. He didn't remember that the long-eared fox would have actually entered the mansion with him.

Luna on the other hand, really saw Carbuncle for the first time. First her jaw dropped for a second and then she bowed, before approaching it. "Thank you for your assistance. I am in your debt," she breathed to it, and Carbuncle gave Noct a rather smug eyeful. Now somebody was truly appreciating it in a right way.


	7. Plans

"I suppose you have some kind of idea," Noct asked sly-looking Carbuncle. The fox nodded, and Noct's phone vibrated again. "I don't have the entire solution, but I could take you into Lunafreya's dream. What you do there is up to you." Noct read the message aloud to Luna, who seemed both pleased and thoughtful.

"I'm sure that just having you there with me would give me courage. Maybe if we stayed to the end of the dream or changed something, it wouldn't come back anymore. Although it does have something more to it. It doesn't feel like just a dream. Maybe I should pray for guidance. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to deal with this by myself." Luna was apologizing, but Noct brushed it away. "Don't worry. We'll get through this. I'm happy that we got a chance to meet each other and uh..." He was blushing a little. So did she, apparently ending the sentence the same way in her head.

"I'll stick around for now. Tell me when you are done and good to go," Carbuncle sent a text, settling to the corner of sofa and rolling himself to a tight ball, wrapping the thick tail carefully around the feet. It's eyes closed, but the long ears kept twitching every now and then.

For a while, Luna was praying for the Six quietly, and Noct wondered if he could summon his Armiger weapons in her dream. They were both real and ethereal, but practically he called and pulled them out with his bare will. Surely it was worth the shot too, though he hoped he wouldn't need them.

Luna seemed very tired, sitting on the thick carpet. Somehow she was still a lot better now than when Noct had first come in, being more confident, more calm. She raised her eyes to Noct. "I think... I think I'm ready to go."


	8. Premonition

Noct sat on the sofa and propped himself on nice half-sitting position. Luna sat next to him, finding a comfortable place as she leaned on his chest. "I know this is going to stop, but it still makes me a little nervous," she confessed to Noct, glancing at him. "We'll be fine. It's going to be alright," he said, confident.

Carbuncle jumped on them, lightly stepping next to Luna. She instinctively closed her eyes as Carbuncle touched her forehead lightly with its own ruby horn.

As they opened their eyes, they were under the brilliant night sky, under countless shining stars. Soon the first star fell, and others began to follow. The beautiful sky soon turned black and hauntingly empty. Luna bowed her head in prayer again and Noct stood close, guarding her and watching how everything was still happening as she had told before.

He watched the view change, withering and dying. It was quite different to feel coldness creeping in his own bones and see the changes in the land. He too, began to eventually hear the low voice whispering. It seemed to tell a tale of vengeance, payback, hate and death, even if Noct couldn't understand the exact words. It was more like an intuition. He too, got the feeling of strange familiarity, but he assumed it was something supernatural.

Noct knew to expect the shadows deepening, and still for a while he too, froze in place. The black creature formed in darkness, turning out monstrous. Luna had stopped praying, and grabbed Noct's hand.

Yellow eyes turned to them. The thing inhaled. "Ahhh, Prince Noctis. I see you've joined her. Do you want to hear my heartfelt promise to you both once more?" The thing cackled a taunting laugh. "No need. You will leave her alone," Noct answered coldly.

"Oh, I will? I tend to keep my promises," creature still teased him, raising his hairs up. "Maybe I wasn't saying it clearly enough. You will leave us alone, or I will make sure to see your cold body torn in pieces first," Noct growled. Yellow eyes seemed still carefree. "And by what power would you happen to do that? We are only in her head, aren't we?" The creature slithered slowly closer. 

Noct summoned his Armiger weapons, hovering very still above his head, pointed to the creature, ready to strike. It stopped moving. "My weapons seem to be real enough, even here," Noct suggested. "That is still not enough. You are not strong enough," the creature said, still sounding self-assured, although Noct noticed it didn't move closer anymore.

"Well how about us all together?" Gentiana appeared from behind Luna. The whispering in the air received a new tone, even more malicious than before. Gentiana listened for a while, closing her eyes and concentrating. A thin smile appeared on her lips, as she coated her words with venom, "Shut up, If. And get lost before I will blow you a kiss." A low grunt was heard and the echoing whispers in the air ceased for good.

Carbuncle appeared from somewhere behind as well. It walked with uttermost care and grace, sitting in pointedly in front of Luna. It turned to slowly nod to Gentiana by her side. "Pleasure is all mine, old one," dark-haired woman replied to a silent conversation, nodding back to the fox.

Their little group together was changing the atmosphere. Luna let go of Noct's hand, no longer afraid. She took a step closer. "Why do you hate us so much? Would you like me to try to heal you," she pleaded, offering compassion for the first time. For the first time, the creature seemed truly antagonized. "I don't need your healing," it hissed back angrily before collecting itself. 

"This changes nothing. I will see this game to the end, and I will make sure of it, enjoying even more when I see you fall. Fine, I take my leave. For now," the black monster said, backing up and suddenly disappearing. Shadows were just shadows now, even if it was still dark everywhere.

"What, this was it?" Luna wondered, looking around. Noct put away his weapons, vanishing in thin air. "Seems like it. Although I begin to worry about the bigger picture of which he implied. But I think we'll are done for now," Noct replied. "Thank you for your help," he bowed deep to Gentiana and Carbuncle. They nodded back in acknowledgement.

"Just... how do we get out of here?" Luna asked, feeling a little lost. Carbuncle gave a meaningful look for Gentiana, who giggled a bit, raising her hand to cover her smile before answering. "Why, just wake up!"

Luna opened her eyes again, and she was back in the familiar room, still leaning on Noct's chest, as he was blinking and now awake too. Carbuncle was long gone, and neither of them had really expected to see Gentiana around. They were alone with each other, and first light of the morning wasn't far.


	9. As you are

"How about having some breakfast?" Luna suggested, getting up to call the servant. Noct would have rather kept her in his arms, but he had to admit, he was hungry too.

In just moments they were sitting down to the table, eating fruits and fresh bread. They had a nice selection of thinly sliced cold meats and cheeses, too. It felt homey to sit with her and to talk about everything. It reminded him of their childhood, feeling so easy to be together. 

If their future marriage would be anything like this, Noct would be very happy indeed. He would've hated to spend rest of his life with some uptight hag that he'd just have to tolerate of. Probably born with a silver spoon in her mouth and realizing nothing of real life outside palace. And having to share a bed with... 

Just then Luna looked at him curiously, his face must have been looking funny. "A penny for your thoughts," she inquired, smiling. Soon she was laughing aloud, as Noct decided to share the thought about his horrible mental image of 'uptight hag'. He didn't dare to say anything bedroom-related stuff, anyway.

"Geez, thanks for thinking a bit higher about me," Luna howled and wiped her eyes. He rewinded the conversation in his head, and blushed a bit. "I meant... I'm trying to say I like you very much. As you are. I couldn't have found anyone that I'd rather be with," Noct tried to explain.

"I know. I feel the same about you," she patted his hand, more serious now. They were done eating now, and she began to look very tired, yawning. "Would you mind coming back later? I think I'm going to drop any minute now, even though I'd love to stay with you," she apologized.

Noct remembered now that she had barely slept in days. Even his last day had been long and trying, so how worn out she must have felt compared to him. "How about if we had a real date in the evening," he suggested back, collecting his courage. It was what he had hoped for yesterday evening, after all. 

"I'd love to," she agreed. They'd have to keep low profile, but getting to spend more time together was way more important than that. Soon he got up, kissed her quickly and said goodbye, exiting the double doors and the stone mansion. 

Rarely the view of the city glowing in the morning sun had felt so enjoyable. Even the walk to his hotel room felt so light and filled with hope. He set up an alarm and fell to bed himself, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	10. Shades and shadows

Noct woke up into the sound of relentless alarm at ten o'clock. Groaning, he shut it down. He had slept hours, but he felt still tired. Yesterday he had somehow made a promise to keep looking for some missing chocobo chicks. He had caught a few, but most of the flock was still missing. 

He wanted to visit the arena too, feeling confident that the games would be a piece of cake for him. Maybe it would be for the best that he started methodically to narrow down the search from the arena anyways? Oh yeah, he was alone and didn't have to justify his decisions to anybody. Hooray, he chuckled for himself.

He barely made it out of the hotel, when he backed in at the entrance. He saw Ignis casually walking by in the street, wearing his usual stylish dark clothes. Why was he here? And if he was here, so would be the others too, for sure. Ahhh. They couldn't let him go on his own, after all. 

Noct jumped scared in the doorway, as his phone vibrated. He pulled out his phone and saw the message. "Hello to you too. Are you done daydreaming yet? Are we going somewhere?" He turned to his feet just to see Carbuncle there, sitting and looking bored. "S-sure, we're going. Would you mind taking us to the arena first," he asked aloud and received an approving nod from his companion.

Later he was running fast around the city, Carbuncle right on his tail like a shadow. Those little chicks were annoying! This one seemed especially skilled in eluding his grasp, hopping just a little aside every time he was about to catch it. Talking about hopping... far ahead were two people who looked somehow very familiar, another one just taking a fast glimpse at behind. Prompto and their mage! And he was desperately pulling her aside, trying to avoid his line of view and somehow tripping straight in the tall green bushes.

He was there already, hearing the groaning and seeing two pairs of feet still slightly sticking out to the street, mixed up with each other. If he hadn't been in the middle of chase, he would have stayed to point and laugh. He chuckled to himself. Well, maybe not, but they were pretty comical, going down movie-style.

Noct kept running, and leaped on the chocobo chick, as it turned into a dead end. Gotcha, you little yellow birdbrain. Only... 5 more to go. It was his turn to be groaning aloud. But there wasn't anything he wouldn't do just to get to take Luna to watch fireworks with him in the evening.

After all the hard work, he finally had enough medallions. He had had pretty much enough from baby chocobos too, for a while. And creepy moogles, who actually seemed to follow him every now and then. 

He had reserved a gondola and the finest suite from Leville, and he was planning to buy fresh flowers again for her. He had arranged a beautiful dinner after the fireworks at the suite, so they wouldn't have to worry about getting recognized by the crowds in public places. Now all he needed was a shower and a quick nap.

And so by the dusk Noct was climbing up to the second floor again. This time he had bought pink orchids for her, and when she held them, she seemed just as pleased about them as of yesterdays bouquet.

She was very beautiful tonight, not just wearing a silvery, shimmering dress, but clearly she had gotten much needed rest. "Did you get to sleep well," Noct still had to ask. Her eyes sparkled, as she told him she felt like a new person without the nightmares. She was already wrapping herself in a white scarf to cover her hair and partly her face. After she was done, Noct offered her his arm and led her to a waiting gondola nearby.

Soon they were slowly gliding over the dark water, sharing the seat together and enjoying the view of decorated city. He was holding her close, resting his hand on her narrow waist as the gondolier took them for a round on the town before the fireworks. Her closeness felt almost intoxicating. Way too soon the round was done and rockets in the sky were beginning to colour them both in rainbow shades. He was breathing in her scent and wanted to remember this moment forever.


	11. Time

By the end of the dinner Noct began to be desperate. They had just finished their meal together. It was as if all this precious time with her was going fast forward, and he couldn't hold on.

"Are you alright? You seem a little absent. Should I start to get going," Luna worried. "Oh no, I mean yes. I'm fine. What I mean is that I'd like you to stay," Noct stuttered. "At least for a while longer," he added, feeling like an idiot. Actually he would have liked to ask her to stay all night, but he just couldn't face it if she said no.

"It feels hard to think about going back tomorrow, and not knowing how long it will be before we meet again," Noct explained, rising up and pacing to the window. He felt so uneasy, not really knowing why.

She followed him, taking his hand and stepping to stand by his side. "I know. I will miss you too," she said softly, gazing the view to the dark sea and dark sky over it. "It's not fair to get to know you a little better after all this time and then get separated again. But our kingdoms need us to fulfill our duties. I know, I'm preaching to the choir," she shook her head, looking down.

"The way it has always been... I'm glad that we got at least this time," Noct sighed, turning to her and gathering his courage. It was now or never, if he wanted to make his move. So he raised his hand to pick a stray wisp of her blonde hair, tucking it gently behind her ear. 

He studied her eyes for a while, before slowly leaning to kiss her. When she responded, he pulled her closer against his body. As he was carefully mapping her lips, and feeling the spark ignite between them, he knew she was truly the one he had always wanted.

He wanted her closer and to continue, but then he wanted to get more comfortable. He carefully separated, pulling her along to first hit the light switch and then heading to the sofa. As she sat on his lap, she was like a pale, silvery ghost. It was as her skin had been glowing against the shadows, and Noct thought she was so beautiful she was probably made of starlight.

If the time had been running fast forward before, now it felt like stopping and disappearing as he sunk into another kiss with her. This one felt even better, until Luna squirmed. "I feel so uncomfortable," she whispered with distress and for a while his heart sank. But she was just switching her position, choosing to sit astride on him and slightly lifting her dress in order to be able to do it.

"So much better," she huffed, being even closer now, and his heart jolted back to life. Their lips joined again, slightly opening as their tongues met. For a long while they were just creating new exciting patterns with each others mouths and tongues. 

It began to feel most natural thing for him to hold his arms around her, on her shoulders, even dropping them on her bottom and feeling every curve on her back. Her hands wandered all the same on him, on his neck, hair, everywhere.


	12. To dawn

She parted once more to look at him, gaze flickering to his lips. "Do you have... protection?" she whispered, blue eyes serious. He couldn't find the words, something hitching in his throat, but he managed to nod. He hadn't even dared to dream about this with her, but good thing he carried some condoms in his wallet as a habit. Not that he had had use for them before.

He carefully lifted her up, carrying her into the bedroom of the suite and laying her down to the bed. "Are you sure?" He tried to find his voice. As she said yes, his own pulse was beating like a drum in his ears.

His hands felt a little unsteady, finding the zipper on her back and sliding it down, revealing her bare skin and sliding the gown off her. As his hands were working with the lock of her bra, his mouth was exploring the edge of bare skin and thin fabric covering her breasts, making her gasp.

It was his turn to undress, and he was doing it fast, just to get back to ridding her of those small panties. He leaned to kiss her again, trying to slow down. His fingers were trailing down, gliding over her panties and cupping her mound. He was feeling the dampness between her legs, kissing her thighs. Soon she lifted her hips and Noct had her fully naked on the bed.

Her body was perfect. There wasn't a spot he didn't love. And right now she was pulling him closer to a hungry kiss, their naked skins touching. As he rubbed against her flat stomach, and hands wandering all over her, she told him to put it on. He did as told, trying to keep his fingers from trembling.

To his surprise, she pushed him down, settling herself on top. She began to slowly descent on him, and the sensation was so good that he wondered if he could take it. She felt so tight and warm around him. He'd just have to endure somehow, until she would come first. She'd have to.

She began her dance up and down, hips grinding and swirling around as she filled herself over and over again with him, sighing with pleasure. Her breasts bounced with every movement, her pale skin slightly beginning to shine with sweat. Noct still tried just to hold on, balancing between urge to drown in the feeling and the will to be a good lover.

Soon she sped up, reaching her climax and her last urgent moves against him pushed him over too. This had been worth waiting for. They were both panting as she lifted herself in a moment, letting him slide out. He would've liked to stay in her, fall asleep inside her. Instead he had to get up and go clean himself a bit.

At least she was still waiting and awake, when he came back. He kissed her, and she was drowsy too. "I should go before the dawn," she whispered. "We have still some time," he replied. Soon her breathing deepened, and Noct realized she had fallen asleep in his arms.

He felt tired too, but he wanted to enjoy about every minute with her before she would have to go. And dawning day meant about his trip back, as well. He wouldn't be adamant about catching the first ship today, but he was running out of reasons to really stay.

His love for her didn't count right now as much as his duty for Lucis. His kingdom and his people had to come first, and their marriage would come when it'd be its time and it would serve the need.

The sky was slightly changing its hue from ink black to very dark blue. He woke her up gently, and still she jumped a bit, until realizing where she was. "There would've been so many things I should have discussed with you," she whispered to him. She was pulling away to get dressed, and Noct stopped her, holding her hand.

"I know. But I love you. I will find you again," he told her as she was slipping in her clothes again. Her eyes seemed to hold countless thoughts not said aloud as she leaned for one more long kiss, hands resting on his cheeks. "I love you too," she whispered and turned to take her leave.

The sky was changing its colour now and she was out on her way, disappearing just like stars now in the sky. Noct got up, staring at the new morning. His heart was confused, filled with joy and sorrow in the same time. He wandered to the bed, still clinging to her lingering scent and decided to have a nap before going to collect his belongings from the other hotel and leaving Altissia.


	13. Back to normal

Noct was in the ferry, standing in the prow of the ship and leaning into the railing. He enjoyed the cool fresh air, vastness of the deep blue sea and nice weather. In a sense it felt good to get back to others and to familiar things.

He was pondering about last night, too. Their night together had exceeded his every expetation, feeling so good his heart could probably explode. And still he felt a pang of jealousy and disappointment realizing he hadn't been her first one. He doubted the list of her bedmates would be very long, since she had been quite transparent about her feelings for him. He believed she really meant it, telling she loved him.

Sure, he had gone out a couple of times with some pretty girls too. It had just never gone that far, he hadn't really wanted to commit into anything serious with any of them. So it had been easier to go home and find his relief alone, not having to give anything real out of himself to anyone.

He couldn't do anything about it either way. Maybe they would talk about it sometime or maybe it would be better to leave it be. Depended how things would go between them and if it continued to bother him. Still he regretted nothing, least of their time spent together.

He was glad that she had gotten rid of the nightmare. He however worried about the future and the dark creature, and its promise to see them again, bringing them demise. Not much he could do about that either right now. He would just have to prepare for their next meeting and get stronger. Much stronger.

He wondered how the trip had gone for his kingsguard. Their actions had made him curious, but he couldn't just blurt out he knew about their little operation to follow him without embarrassing them. 

And Prompto taking a walk like that with their girl, going in a very familiar manner and holding her hand... hmmm. He'd definitely keep an eye between those two. On the other hand, Prompto was like that, carefree and kind. It didn't necessarily mean anything more.

He was actually waiting for their company. The time alone had been good and appreciated, but now he felt ready to continue on again with his friends. Except that after sleeping so short periods during last days, today they would definitely just go to camp and be lazy for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow everything would be back to normal then.


End file.
